these thoughts run through my head

[grappler]

Who: Vi and open
Where: Lupin, around aldrip
What: she is Not Happy
Warnings: alcohol mentions, otherwise nothing yet



i. text un: punchesu

alright, roll call. who all disappeared after all that bullshit last month? Cait and Ekko are gone. they haven't showed back up.

i know they're probably not the only ones, so there's gotta be some info on where they are.

ii. lupin

[she could be found around Lupin first of all, and when she's there she's aggressively cleaning the glasses that're being used, except for a glass that she takes a drink out of every now and then.

if she hears someone approach, she looks over to the side so that she can see them in her periphery.]

What do you want? Or if you're trying to pay, don't bother.

[she doesn't really care about money of all things right now.]

iii. gym

[when she's not at Lupin, she's at the gym. she could be seen punching the shit out of a punching bag, and at some point... the chain breaks, and it goes falling to the floor. she groans when it happens, kicking the shit out of it now and then throwing it into the wall. she stands there, breathing heavily after that, putting her hands on her knees a bit and starts to catch her breath.]

Leave me alone.

[if she sees anyone coming by, anyway.]

I'll fix it later.

[this is a sort of catchall/post deal! if you'd like to do anything with Vi for the month of October, just hmu in the discord or angelonia @ plurk!]

Comments

TXT; un: BOMBSHELL

[opheliac]

what are u going on about? the bug is still buzzing around. ure just not looking at the right places.

[grappler]

[?????]

you've seen him?
he's not in my phone anymore, though.

[unless... it was one of the glitches.]

[opheliac]

hes just busy, vi. u know how he is. always off doing something. cant sit still. like me!

hes probably tearing it apart to see how it works more. and who knows! fuged it up somehow.

[grappler]

or... maybe he went back home.

[and Jinx is just in denial.]

but we can't know for sure, since he's not the only one missing after all that shit.

text; un: shades (private)

[laserguy]

[He doesn't want to be the bearer of bad news, but Scott sort of feels like it's his responsibility to tell Vi what happened. Caitlyn and her are close, right? She deserves to know. Then there's just this feeling of... wanting to be more of a leader? It's hard to explain.

It's also worrying that Ekko disappeared. Just like Peter, apparently??]

Vi.

I know what happened with Caitlyn.

[grappler]

[""close"" lmfao...

there's a moment where Vi just looks at the text.

and then she sighs. puts her face in her hands. puts her hands back on the tablet:]

what happened?

[laserguy]

okay before i say anything.

did you want me to tell you in person?

[well good job summers, it's not like vi can't figure out now that this is probably bad news.]

text | un: gwenstacy

[arachnerina]

there's several unaccounted for that went on the terminal mission
my boyfriend included
i'm hoping they're just trapped in the backup data but it's too early to say

[yeah she's not...handling it very well. but she's trying.]

also
your sister is really weird?
she was convinced i'm you just because we apparently sound alike??

[grappler]

if they're trapped in the backup data, then how would we get them out?

[she blinks for a minute. then realizes... that she's talking about Jinx.]

she's not weird.
she's just... Jinx.
you guys met?

[how do you even explain Jinx]

[arachnerina]

that's
an excellent question that i don't have an answer for
yet
but the stem club is working on it

[listen it's a bit beyond her too, this level of AI and coding. she's having to put a hell of a lot of trust in her friends right now.]

her name is seriously jinx?
and that's not weird?
but yeah
we ran into each other in ketsora before the reset
she heard me and thought i was you i guess

[giraffic]

[ she's out exploring Aldrip, dipping into the gym to ogle the machines

Ellie's keeping a respectful distance by a wide margin, more half hanging into the room through the door frame like she was passing by ]

Damn. Bet it had it coming.

[grappler]

[Vi looks up when she notices that she has an observer, and huffs as she's still stands there to regain her breath.]

Damn right it did.

[she walks to a water bottle nearby now, taking a drink as she looks at Ellie.]

Sorry if you wanted to take a turn. Like I said, I'll fix it in a minute.

[giraffic]

It's fine, I'm just looking around.

[ still, she lingers at the door. ]

Are you some kind of ring fighter?

gym

[valiantarms]

[Sora wasn't normally one to go to a gym. She normally trained at the school dojo or the park with a friend. But it was getting colder and being able to train alone seemed like a good idea.

So she was fine beating up the padded post.

Then there was a crash, she paused. Turning to stare at the noise, taking a step forward, tilting her head at the woman's... she wasn't sure. But she frowned, slowly approaching the lady, reaching a hand out. She paused at the comment, her hand still held out.]

Are you alright?

[grappler]

[of course no one leaves her alone when she actually wants to be alone!!

but it's fine. it's totally fine. her tone might come off as a little grumpy, but she doesn't really mean it when she speaks:]

Yeah. Fine.

[she doesn't take Sora's hand, instead moving to her water bottle and taking a drink out of it.]

Like I said, I'll fix it in a bit.

[valiantarms]

[What is leaving people alone? Sora didn't know.

...It was probably for the best that Vi didn't take Sora's hand. While Sora was good at punching, she was small, less than 5 foot tall. Actually lifting someone was a bit beyond her, despite her attempt.

She gave a little, uneasy hum at the dismissal.]

Doesn't it just need hanging up?

[Or had the chain broke, she'd been too far away to see.]

ii

[incorrigibles]

[ he sees that message on the network — and as much as he wants to answer... well. best leave it to someone else, like scott, someone who'd actually been there when it happened, someone who'd maybe known either caitlyn or ekko for longer than just a day or less.

but he can't stop thinking that there's a person somewhere here who misses both of them... and eventually, after doing some investigating, he connects the username with the woman and then slaps his hand onto the surface of a mirror and looks for her.

it only takes him five minutes, and then three seconds to step into the mirror and out of a reflective surface in lupin, whether it's another mirror, or something else. ]

To talk to you, [ he says, voice soft and almost a little apologetic — and yet with enough of a steely core to say he's not going to go away easily. ]

[grappler]

[there's a moment where she just stands there at the comment, and she puts the glass she was cleaning down before she looks at him completely. she looks at him, up and down for a moment, before deciding that she hadn't met him before.]

And what do you want to talk to me about?

[please don't be the bearer of more bad news she thinks, frowning at him.]

If you want a job, I'm probably full up but I'll take in another kid if I got to.

[incorrigibles]

No, I'm not here for a job.

[ though maybe she'd have some overnight shifts for him, actually, that might be something to ask her later — but right, sticking to the topic. his expression remains almost hesitant, brows furrowed as he looks at her. ]

I saw your message to everyone, [ he starts, sympathy making his voice gentle. ] And I... well, I was there. With the beach team, I mean — I only got there after... [ after, ] But I helped Ekko with the terminal. He seemed like a good guy. And I thought, you're missing both of them, aren't you?

[ a sigh as he runs his hand through his hair. ] I know you're gonna tell me to fuck off, but I don't think you should be alone.

lupin

[traumaticus]

[While Richard had become somewhat a regular at the loud and buzzing pub known as Last Drop it didn't mean that he was opposed to visit the rivaling establishments. In fact, he prefers to spread out his map of the city more rather than shut himself in repeating patterns. So, tonight he does set his foot inside a more quiet and hidden place. And for a better or worse Lupin was near empty, sans the redhead working behind the bar. A rough around edges, ruffian-looking young woman who stands out like an ill-thumb in this otherwise calm and clean decor.

How interesting.

Richard pulls down the hood of his cloak and walks up to the tender. However, before he even gets a chance to open his mouth the unruly girl speaks, telling him off.]

How about a drink, then?

[grappler]

[listen. she's got a lot on her mind, and she's not always the nicest. that's reserved for some of the teens on hand that help run the bar, but she'd let them have the day off, save for the one in the back that's cooking.

she had to keep her mind busy.

she looks up at Richard when he comes in, and grabs a clean glass.]

Right. What d'you want, or you want it to be bartenders' choice?

[traumaticus]

[Well. Richard has visited his fair share of questionable and rundown pubs in his life, so her attitude isn't something that he hasn't encountered before. But still, it is a little unexpected from a place like this.

Richard takes seat at the counter, eyeing the red head thoughtfully. He's still pretty inexperienced when it comes to this world's alcohol, mostly having tasted various whiskies from Silco's cabinet and the frozen treat known as 'Strawberry Margarita'.]

I shall let you surprise me, miss.

voice forever

[fieldtrip]

Caitlyn's gone?!

[ Toph hadn't realized and she's immediately extremely upset. That's her student. ]

Are you kidding me? Wasn't the whole point of the reset so that people would stop getting messed with?

text still for now -- private

[grappler]

[ugh, the sound of Toph's outrage kind of tears something in her. and while she knows it'd be easier for the other girl to just turn on her own voice function... she can't.

she doesn't want her to know how upset she is.]

she died during the reset.

scott told me.

[even though the dead comes back here... it still hurts to type out.]

[fieldtrip]

[ Thanks Vi, this means Toph gets to hear about Caitlyn dying from a computer voice. She really hates it, but she realizes Vi must be going through it far worse than she is.

Still -- hiding isn't going to fix anything. ]

She died? [ Toph sounds devastated, completely shocked. Part of her immediately feels hollowed out, numb, in a way she's never felt before. Is that what real shock is? Real grief? ] Who... who did it? How?

[ Then her brain keeps going and reminds her of a very important fact, questions continuing to spill out. ]

She'll be back, right? Don't people who die show up like a week later? [ That makes no sense to her, but Toph's been here long enough to know it happens. ]